The RETRO Program: There’s GOLD in Them Thar Hills!

Earlier this week we shared a post on the RETRO program, and the bureaucratic problems it will create that will be keenly and painfully felt by workers.

The RETRO Program has inserted a profit motive into a system designed to spread claims costs across the state as a whole. This profit motive has created a new industry in our state – the administration and oversight by independent groups of the administration and oversight of claims already performed by the Department of Labor and Industries. These independent groups shave a portion of an employer’s refund as payment of their fees with promises of reduced claims costs and increased rebates in exchange.

Some of these groups advertise their ability to gain rebates of 11%, 15%, 17% from premiums paid by the employer. One – The Building Association of Washington or the BIAW – advertises that it helped their employer clients receive refunds of 51.8% last year. To my eye, that is more than good claims practices. It is robbing the workers and tax payers of this state.

I can assure you that the workers who paid into our state-wide system through payroll deduction did not receive 51.8% refunds.

Our legislature is scrambling through an extended session to craft a budget for the coming biennium, facing the daunting task of cutting programs that provide essential services to the neediest members of our society. The Department of Labor and Industries routinely used excess premiums to invest as a means of lessening the cost of claims for everyone involved. With enormous rebates, though, they are instead running close to the bone.

Most RETRO groups provide review and analysis of workplace conditions and practices in an effort to prevent injury claims in the first place. Some, including the largest RETRO group in the state, the aforementioned BIAW, also take funds from employer rebates and convert them into huge lobbying efforts focused not only on reform of the workers’ compensation system but of the structure of our government overall.

The BIAW was a major financial backer of the defeated gubernatorial candidate in the last race, Dino Rossi, causing more than just a stir as the power of its financial push rippled across the state. Their stated goal is to “unite those in the building industry in Washington State in their fight against a government that has made this industry among the most regulated in the nation.” They are a full-service provider, further stating:

No independent groups provide similar resources for workers. Unions have been the intended protector of workers during the last century but have been diminished since the Reagan era to the point where less than 7% of the workforce is covered by a union. Even those workers who are represented by a union have limited resources when injured on the job, as the union leadership often lacks expertise in workers’ compensation claims.

I advocate for a return to parity through the removal of the profit motive created by the RETRO Program. The decrease in the currently-ridiculous level of claim scrutiny would allow doctors to be doctors and patients to be patients instead of litigants and witnesses. Further reform to allow injured workers to seek repayment of legal fees and costs when they prevail in the administrative court would also level the playing field between workers and employers.

I would also like to add that if you do not now have an insurance policy otherwise you do not participate in any group insurance, you will well take advantage of seeking the help of a health insurance agent. Self-employed or people with medical conditions commonly seek the help of any health insurance brokerage service. Thanks for your post.

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Welcome to Washington Workers' Advisor. On this blog we will strive to keep you informed about trends and developments in workers' compensation law, Social Security disability, maritime claims, and other issues important to workers. Causey Law Firm is a nationally recognized firm serving clients across the nations with Washington State workers’ compensation claims, Longshore & Harbor Worker and Defense Base Act cases, Social Security claims and maritime cases.

We do not represent corporations, insurers or employers. We limit our practice to representing individuals who have been injured, on the job or through the fault of another, or have become disabled.

OUR TEAM

Jay Causey

Jay Causey has practiced for over 30 years in the area of workers' compensation and disability law, including Washington State workers' compensation claims, Social Security Disability cases, Longshore and Harbor workers' Act cases, Defense Base Act claims, and maritime injury. Read More »

Sue C. Andrews

Susan Andrews represents Causey Law Firm clients in Social Security Disability claims at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review and the Appeals Council.Read More »

Brian Wright

Brian represents injured and disabled people in Washington State workers' compensation claims and federal claims under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act and the Defense Base Act.Read More »

Jane Dale

Jane Dale joined Causey Law Firm in 2014. She handles Washington State workers' compensation claims at the administrative level and through all stages of litigation.Read More »